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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 2018)
February 21, 2018 The Skanner BLACK HISTORY EDITION Page 9 Black History Readers are Leaders: Buy Your Children More Books stand setting, plot, and characters. By Elizabeth Primas Program Manager, NNPA/ESSA Public Awareness Campaign group enjoy books with vibrant colors, a predict- able pattern, and interac- tive pages. e are our chil- dren’s first teachers, and what we teach them makes a difference. According to research by Betty Hart of the Uni- versity of Kansas and Todd Risley of the Uni- versity of Alaska, by age 3, poor children have an accumulated expe- rience with 30 million less words than their wealthier counterparts; a greater percentage of the words that poor chil- dren accumulate were discouraging compared to their wealthier peers. We have to read more to our children and en- courage them to read more for themselves. This year let’s help re- duce the 30-million-word gap by adding more books to our shopping list. Books not only pro- mote literacy, they also encourage our children to see themselves as an integral and valued part of the society in which they live. Walter Dean Myers, author of the crit- ically acclaimed “Mon- ster,” asserts that cultur- ally relevant books help young people to validate their existence as human beings. Our Picks: 1. “Please, Baby, Please” by Spike Lee & Tonya Lewis Lee describes the behind-the-scenes look at the chills, spills, and unequivo- cal thrills of bringing up baby.* 2. “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” by Mill Martin Jr. uses an alphabet rhyme to race to the top of a coconut tree. 3. “Chicka Chicka 1,2,3” also by Bill Martin Jr. is the counting-themed complement to the popular “Chicka Chi- ka Boom Boom.” 4. “Brothers of the Knight” by Debbie Allen is a modern retelling of the clas- sic tale “The Twelve Dancing Princesses.” Reverend Knight can’t understand why his 12 sons’ sneakers are torn to shreds each and every morning, and the boys aren’t talking. They know their all-night dancing wouldn’t fit with their father’s image in the community. Maybe Sunday, a pretty new nanny with a knack for getting to the bot- tom of household mys- teries, can crack the case. Our Picks: 1. “The Broken Bike Boy and the Queen of 33rd Street” by Sha- ron Flake explores the meaning of being a good friend and “hap- pily ever after.” 2. “Fifty Cents and a Dream: Young Book- er T. Washington” by Jabari Asim tells the story of a young Book- er T. Washington, the cherished American educator and advisor to presidents, jour- ney five-hundred mile journey to Hampton Institute immediately after emancipation. He arrived with only fifty cents in his pock- et. 3. “Mr. Chickee’s Funny Money” by Christo- pher Paul Curtis takes readers on an exciting adventure with best friends Steven, Rus- sell, and Zoopy. Steven was given a mysteri- ous dollar bill from Mr. Chickee, an elder- ly blind man in the neighborhood. When Agent Fondoo from the U.S. Treasury De- partment finds out about it, he wants the currency back; but the team of secret govern- ment agents may have met their match in the three best friends. 8 years-old to 12 years- old: Children in this age group are familiar with story line. They under- 13 years-old to 18 years- old: By this age, teens have established what they like to read, and some W A Guide to Purchasing Culturally Relevant Books Birth to 7 years-old: Children in this age Panther cont’d from pg 8 the movie. Through all of the im- proved writing of T’Chal- la and his world, his spec- tacular scientific ability has remained prominent. Wakanda continues to be a successful African nation with astonishing science and technology. Furthermore, and very importantly, T’Challa is not portrayed as an anomaly among his peo- ple in this regard. There are many great scien- tists and engineers in Wakanda, including his half-sister Shuri. In some accounts, she (in the con- tinued scientist-ranking business of comics) is an even greater intellect than he is. ‘If they can do it, then why not me?’ As a scientist who cares about inspiring more people — including un- derrepresented minori- ties and women — to engage with science, I think that if a significant portion of this scientif- ic landscape appears in “Black Panther” it could amplify the movie’s cul- tural impact. Vast audiences will see Black heroes of both gen- ders using their scientif- ic ability to solve prob- lems and make their way in the world, at an unri- valed level. Research has shown that such repre- sentation can have a pos- itive effect on the inter- ests, outlook and career trajectories of viewers. Improving science edu- cation for all is a core en- deavor in a nation’s com- petitiveness and overall health, but outcomes are limited if people aren’t inspired to take an inter- est in science in the first place. There simply are not enough images of Black scientists — male or female — in our me- dia and entertainment to help inspire. Many people from underrep- resented groups end up genuinely believing that scientific investigation is not a career path open to them. Moreover, many peo- ple still see the dedica- tion and study needed to excel in science as “nerdy.” A cultural in- jection of Black Panther heroics could help con- tinue to erode the crum- bling tropes that science is only for white men or reserved for people with a special “science gene.” Given the widespread anticipation for the up- coming “Black Panther” movie, if it showcas- es T’Challa and other Wakandans as highly accomplished scientists, it should give science en- gagement a significant boost worldwide. Dr. Elizabeth Primas says that we have to read more to our children and encourage them to read more for themselves. have decided that they don’t like to read at all, but with the right books, that can change. Our picks: 1. “Firebird” by Misty Copeland tell the sto- ry of a young girl with fragile confidence who questions her ability to reach the heights that Misty has. 2. “Americanah” by Chi- mamanda Ngozi Adi- chie is the coming of age the story of an Ni- gerian-American girl discovering the mean- ing of “blackness” in the United States of America. Her com- panion Obinze, was not able to join her in the states due to post 9/11 immigration pol- icies and they eventu- ally stop contact. He chose to try his chanc- es as an undocument- ed person in London; as an alternative to the American dream. However, they reunite years later in a newly democratic Nigeria. 3. “Tears of a Tiger” by Sharon M. Drap- er uses the grief of a young Andy to refute the belief that strong boys don’t cry. After allowing the death of one of his close friends consume him, a series of letters, articles, homework assignments, and dia- logue makes clear that indeed tigers do cry. Dr. Elizabeth Primas is an educator, who spent more than 40 years work- ing towards improving education for children of diverse ethnicities and backgrounds.
